1989 Spanish Grand Prix
1 October |officialname = XXXI Gran Premio Tío Pepe de España |circuit = Circuito de Jerez |location = Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia, Spain |circuittype = Permanent racing facility |lapdistance = 4.218 |laps = 73 |distance = 307.914 |pole = Ayrton Senna |polenation = BRA-1968 |poleteam = |poletime = 1:20.291 |fastestlap = 1:25.779 |fastestlapdriver = Ayrton Senna |fastestlapnation = BRA-1968 |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 55 |winner = Ayrton Senna |winnernation = BRA-1968 |winnerteam = |second = Gerhard Berger |secondnation = AUT |secondteam = |third = Alain Prost |thirdnation = FRA |thirdteam = }} The XXXI Gran Premio Tío Pepe de España, otherwise known as the 1989 Spanish Grand Prix, was the fourteenth round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Circuito de Jerez in Jerez, Spain, on the 1 October 1989.'Spanish GP, 1989', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2015), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr482.html, (Accessed 22/04/2019) The race would see Ayrton Senna claim victory to keep his title hopes alive as teammate and Championship leader Alain Prost finished third. The build-up to the weekend proved controversial, with FISA deciding to give Nigel Mansell a one-race ban for ignoring black-flags during the Portuguese Grand Prix. The Brit protested, even threatening to quit the sport, but was persuaded to acquiesce to the decision ahead of the race in Spain. still were not happy about losing their star driver however, and so only entered Gerhard Berger for the weekend. Regardless, the Austrian was able to split the s during qualifying, claiming second as Senna claimed pole position, while Prost secured third, knowing he would win the title if he finished ahead of Senna. The start of the race would see Senna ease ahead of Berger off the line, while Prost gave chase from third. The rest of the field were led by Riccardo Patrese, while Satoru Nakajima spun in the middle of the pack and was collected by Ivan Capelli. Senna quickly dragged Berger, Prost and Patrese clear during the early stages of the race, with no fighting within the group at all. Elsewhere, Alessandro Nannini was picking his way up the order, while Nicola Larini had a huge accident in his after a suspension failure. The top four would run nose-to-tail through to the mid-race pitstops, with Senna gaining a couple of seconds on Berger despite a slower stop. Prost and Patrese also lost time to drop off the back of the leaders, while Derek Warwick and Eddie Cheever hit one-another in their . Berger's hopes of victory were ultimately ended by traffic, with the Austrian consistently getting caught behind slower cars. As such, Senna's lead would creep up throughout the rest of the race, while Berger developed a slow oil leak in the closing stages. Yet, there would be no changes to the order in the final laps, barring a move by Jean Alesi on Patrese, meaning Senna won at a canter from Berger. Prost was a distant third, meaning Senna had to win the Japanese Grand Prix to keep the Championship alive, while Alesi, Patrese and Philippe Alliot collected the remaining points. Background Alain Prost had moved within touching distance of a third World Championship title in Portugal, arriving in Spain with a 24 point lead. Prost would win the title if he could finish ahead of teammate Ayrton Senna, or if he could finish second with the Brazilian winning the race. Indeed, Senna had to finish first or second in Spain just to keep the title fight alive, having won the same number of races as his teammate. , meanwhile, had continued to add to their Constructors' Championship winning tally in Portugal, moving onto 128 points for the campaign. Behind, had moved into second ahead of , with the two split by a point with three races to go. Those two were set to duel to be runner-up for the rest of the season, with thirty point off in fourth. Entry List The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying Pre-Qualifying Pre-Qualifying Results The full pre-qualifying results for the are outlined below: Friday Qualifying Saturday Qualifying Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. ** Mansell was banned from competing in Spain after ignoring black-flags during the Portuguese Grand Prix. Grid Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car. Milestones * Debut race for JJ Lehto.'1989 Spanish GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1989&gp=Spanish%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 21/04/2019) * Ivan Capelli entered his 50th Grand Prix. * 100th entry for a car using #35 as its race number. * 25th entry for a car using #41 as its race number. * 40th career pole position for Ayrton Senna.'14. Spain 1989', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1989/espagne.aspx, (Accessed 21/04/2019) * Senna secured his twentieth career victory. * claimed their 80th win as a constructor. ** claimed their 52nd win as an engine supplier. * Alain Prost recorded his 80th podium finish. Standings Ayrton Senna just managed to keep his hopes of the Championship crown alive in Spain, although he would have to win both of the remaining races just to challenge Alain Prost. In contrast, Prost would claim the crown if he finished on the podium in Japan, regardless of what Senna achieved, or if the Brazilian could only manage third or lower. Behind, Nigel Mansell had lost more ground in third, and was set to fight with Riccardo Patrese for the position having sat out the race in Spain. had, as ever, added to their title winning tally in the Constructors' Championship, moving on 141 points for the campaign. , meanwhile, had further secured their grip on second, moving five clear of in third with two races to go. Those two were now in an exclusive fight for the runner-up spot, with and instead fighting to stay in the top five. Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:1989 Grands Prix Category:Spanish Grand Prix Category:Formula One races in Spain